Paul Chowdhry

Last updated

Paul Chowdhry
ਪਾਲ ਚੌਧਰੀ
Paul Chowdhry 2015.jpg
Chowdhry in 2015
Born
Tajpaul Singh Chowdhry

(1974-08-21) 21 August 1974 (age 50)
Edgware, London, England
Occupation(s)Comedian, actor
Years active1998–present
Website paulchowdhry.com

Tajpaul Singh Chowdhry (born 21 August 1974), [1] [2] better known as Paul Chowdhry, is an English comedian and actor. [3] He is of Indian Punjabi Sikh descent. [4] [5] [6] [7] He began his stand up career in 1998 and hosted the Channel 4 comedy series Stand Up for the Week as of the fifth series, having been a regular act for the third and fourth series. Chowdhry was the first British act to perform at the Caribbean Comedy Festival in Trinidad in 2003. He has been a guest panelist on 8 out of 10 Cats , Comedy World Cup , and Sorry, I Didn't Know . He has appeared on Live at the Apollo twice, in 2012 and 2015. In 2016, he was one of the contestants on series three of the comedy show Taskmaster . In 2017, he was a guest stand-up performer in The Russell Howard Hour and also sold out the 10,000-seater Wembley Arena, becoming the first British Asian stand-up comic to do so. [8] In 2020, Chowdhry appeared in the television drama series Devils . Since 2021, he has been hosting the podcast The Paul Chowdhry PudCast, in which he interviews comedians. He uses the signature phrase "what's happening white people?" at the start of his stand-up routines.

Contents

Influences

He lists his influences as: "Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, George Carlin and Sam Kinison. Then Morecambe and Wise, Little and Large and Bruce Forsyth from the UK definitely inspired me to get into comedy." [9]

Personal life

Chowdhry makes an effort to keep fit during touring, telling Coach Magazine: "I don't eat chapatis, even though I’m Indian" – and replacing them with higher-protein substitutes like bulgur wheat and quinoa. "If I only had ten minutes to work out, I’d do high-intensity abs training.” [10] He has also spoken about his battles with mental health in the New Statesman: "Mental health problems aren’t really discussed in the Asian community." [11] Talking to the South China Morning Post, "People see you as an Asian comedian, whereas the other two guys coming to Hong Kong [Sean Meo and Michael McIntyre] aren't Asian comedians – they're just British. But they're not referred to as 'English white comedians'. I'm British. I was born in England. The fact that I'm Asian has very little to do with my stand-up, although it would have an influence for an obvious reason because of the way I'm perceived by certain people. So I play on the stereotypes and try to change them." [12]

Stand Up

Chowdhry started his stand up career performing in pubs and clubs around London, often risking racial attacks. [13]

November 2001 saw him at Jongleurs Battersea and Brixton Comedy Club [14] and, in April 2003, he was still performing in Brixton. [15]

2003 also saw him in Trinidad, where he was the first British act to perform at the Caribbean Comedy Festival. [16]

Stand-up shows

YearTitleNotes
2010–11Not PC
2012What's Happening White People?
2014–15PC's World
2017–18Live Innit
2022–23Family-Friendly Comedian (no children)

DVD releases

TitleReleasedNotes
What's Happening White People?19 November 2012Live at London's Hammersmith Apollo
PC's World - Live 201530 November 2015
Live Innit19 August 2019Amazon Prime Video special
Live at London's Hackney Empire

Stage

In early 2003 Chowdhry appeared on stage as "shady, Archers-obsessed Raheem" in the play Finding Bin Laden. [17]

Filmography

YearFilmRole
1999The Colour of FunnyRaj Mahal
Rogue Trader [18] Uncredited
2000 It Was an Accident Rafiq Roy
2002 Bollywood Queen [16] Uncredited
2005 Colour Me Kubrick Pub Announcer
2008The Blue TowerDil
2011 Swinging with the Finkels Henry
2016 Taskmaster Contestant
2020 Devils Kalim Chowdrey
2021 Cruella Restaurant Owner
The Cleaner Man Boy (1 episode)

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Herring</span> English comedian and writer (born 1967)

Richard Keith Herring is an English stand-up comedian and writer whose early work includes the comedy double act Lee and Herring. He is described by The British Theatre Guide as "one of the leading hidden masters of modern British comedy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewart Lee</span> British stand-up comedian, screenwriter and television director

Stewart Graham Lee is an English comedian. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, and deadpan delivery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Dee</span> English comedian and actor (born 1961)

James Andrew Innes "Jack" Dee is an English stand-up comedian, actor, presenter and writer known for his sarcasm, irony and deadpan humour. He wrote and starred in the sitcom Lead Balloon and hosts the panel show I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Carr</span> British-Irish comedian and television presenter (born 1972)

James Anthony Patrick Carr is a British-Irish comedian, presenter, writer and actor. He is known for his rapid-fire deadpan delivery of one-liners which have been known to offend some people. He began his comedy career in 1997, and he has regularly appeared on television as the host of Channel 4 panel shows such as 8 Out of 10 Cats, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown and The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.

Andrew Lawrence is an English comedian who works in stand-up comedy, radio and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russell Howard</span> British comedian and presenter

Russell Joseph Howard is an English comedian, television presenter, radio presenter, and actor. He has hosted his own television shows, Russell Howard's Good News and The Russell Howard Hour, and appeared on the topical panel TV show Mock the Week. He won "Best Compère" at the 2006 Chortle Awards and was nominated for an Edinburgh Comedy Award for his 2006 Aberdeen Festival Fringe show. Howard has cited comedians Lee Evans, Richard Pryor, and Frank Skinner as influences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhod Gilbert</span> Welsh comedian (born 1968)

Rhodri Paul Gilbert is a Welsh comedian and television and radio presenter who was nominated in 2005 for the Perrier Best Newcomer Award. In 2008 he was nominated for the main comedy award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Wool</span> Canadian stand-up comedian

Glenn Wool is a Canadian stand-up comedian based in England. He has released six albums, including 2020's Viva Forever, produced by Dan Schlissel for Stand Up! Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Watson</span> British comedian and writer

Mark Andrew Watson is an English comedian, novelist and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Jefferies</span> Australian stand-up comedian, actor and writer

Geoff James Nugent, known professionally as Jim Jefferies, is an Australian comedian, actor, and writer. He created and starred in the FX sitcom Legit (2013–2014) and the Comedy Central late-night show The Jim Jefferies Show (2017–2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seann Walsh</span> English comedian and actor

Sean Christopher Walsh, known professionally as Seann Walsh, is an English stand-up comedian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Acaster</span> English comedian (born 1985)

James William Acaster is an English comedian, presenter, podcaster and actor. As well as the stand-up specials Repertoire and Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999, he is known for co-hosting the food podcast Off Menu and the panel show Hypothetical. Acaster makes use of fictional characters within his stand-up comedy, which is characterised by frequent callback jokes, offbeat observational comedy and overarching stories. He has won five Chortle Awards, a Just for Laughs Award and International Comedy Festival Awards at Melbourne and New Zealand.

Prince Abdi is a British stand-up comedian and actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anuvab Pal</span> Indian stand up comedian

Anuvab Pal is an Indian stand up comedian, screenwriter, playwright and novelist. He is occasionally featured as a rotating co-host on Season 4 of the podcast The Bugle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nish Kumar</span> British stand-up comedian and presenter

Nishant Kumar is a British stand-up comedian, television presenter, and podcast host. He became known as the host of satirical comedy The Mash Report, now known as Late Night Mash. He has also presented BBC Radio 4 Extra's topical comedy show Newsjack, the Comedy Central series Joel & Nish vs The World, the BBC Radio 4 programme The News Quiz and Hello America on Quibi. Since May 2023, he has been the co-host of the political podcast Pod Save the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Wang</span> British Chinese-Malaysian comedian

Philip Nathaniel Wang Sin Goi is a British-Malaysian stand-up comedian and comedy writer who is a member of the sketch comedy group Daphne, and co-creator of their BBC Radio 4 series, Daphne Sounds Expensive. He currently hosts the comedy podcast ‘BudPod’ with fellow comedian and Footlights alumnus Pierre Novellie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivo Graham</span> English stand-up comedian

Ivo Charles Graham is an English stand-up comedian and comedy writer.

Richard Gadd is a Scottish actor, comedian, and writer, best known for creating and starring in the 2024 Netflix drama series Baby Reindeer, which was based on his one-man dark comedy show of the same name. Gadd won three Primetime Emmy Awards for writing, producing, and acting in the series.

Kae Kurd is a British-Kurdish stand-up comedian and writer. He performed his show Kurd Your Enthusiasm at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017. He has featured as a guest on the BBC Asian Network and has written for the i and Total Politics. As of 2017, he is the UK's only professional standup comedian from a Kurdish background.

Mark Silcox is a comedian and actor who has been performing since 2008. He is most known for being a stand-up, making it to the finals of the BBC New Comedy Award in 2013 and being one of several Asian comedians to be featured on BBC's The Big Asian Stand-Up, as well as for his starring role as Joe Lycett's assistant on the Channel 4 consumer rights comedy show Joe Lycett's Got Your Back.

References

  1. ↑ "Paul Chowdhry". Chortle. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  2. ↑ "The 'Prince' of Comedy". The Asian Today . The Asian Today Ltd. 5 December 2006. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  3. ↑ "Harrow's Own Paul Chowdhry Edges Out the Competition". 4 December 2017.
  4. ↑ BREXINNIT. Paul Chowdhry. 12 November 2019. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021– via YouTube.
  5. ↑ Patels – Paul Chowdhry. Paul Chowdhry. 7 April 2017. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021– via YouTube.
  6. ↑ "Harrow's Own Paul Chowdhry Edges Out the Competition". 4 December 2017.
  7. ↑ Live at the Apollo Paul Chowdhry. It's baking Dave. Ovid. 18 July 2016. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021– via YouTube.
  8. ↑ "Paul Chowdhry". Avalon. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  9. ↑ Partnership, The Kolberg. "INTERVIEW: A quick chat with COMEDIAN Paul Chowdhry – London Art Scene from The Art Stop". AllinLondon. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  10. ↑ "Paul Chowdhry: "Treat yourself like Bruce Lee!"". Coach. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  11. ↑ "Paul Chowdhry: "Mental health problems aren't really discussed in the Asian community."". New Statesman. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  12. ↑ "Comic awake to dangers of stereotypes". South China Morning Post. 12 October 2006. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  13. ↑ "Paul is pulling no punches". News Shopper. 21 March 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  14. ↑ "Comedy". News Shopper. 16 November 2001. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  15. ↑ "Comedy listings until April 10". News Shopper. 4 April 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  16. 1 2 Rae, Nicci (4 December 2017). "Harrow's own Paul Chowdhry edges out the competition". Harrow Online. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  17. ↑ Bennett, Steve. "Finding Bin Laden : Reviews 2003 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide". www.chortle.co.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  18. ↑ Saner, Emine (4 August 2017). "Paul Chowdhry: 'People write this abuse to me, and I've just got to take it?'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 25 March 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.